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What's the Buzz on Smart Grids?

Collaboration and Innovation at Procter & Gamble

How Much Do Credit Card Companies Know About You'?

What's The Perils of Texting?

For each of these, only answer the case study questions associated with them found at the end of the discussion. You do not need to answer the "MIS in Action" questions.

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The solution discusses smart grids, p&g innovation, credit card companies and perils of texting.

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What's the Buzz on Smart Grids? Case Study

1. How smart grids differ from the current electricity infrastructure in the United states

The current electricity infrastructure in the U.S. supplies power to consumers with the grid providing information of how consumers are using the energy. This makes it hard to be able to develop various strategies and approaches to finding ways of optimally distributing power. The current infrastructure also does not effectively handle power that is generated from alternative energy sources. Smart grids on the other hand digitally delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers in a way that allows back and forth communication between suppliers and consumers thereby enhancing decisions made on energy production and consumption. This helps in saving energy, reducing costs and pollution and increasing transparency and reliability since the Smart grid system can be able to allocate involuntary adjustments to the energy stations allowing all to get the energy they need, enhancing better energy distribution while conserving it at the same time (What's the Buzz on Smart Grids, 2010).

2. Management, organization and technology issues to be considered when developing a smart grid

Management issues to be considered when developing smart grid includes effective understanding of buyers requirements by vendors, higher customer awareness, grid compliance, cost and reliability, workforce skills requirements, consistent message from all levels of management, contingency planning for any unfavorable conditions, Smart grid investments, engagements with the developers of the systems, education on the benefits of the Smart Grid (Flores, Watkins and Wilson, 2010; What's the Buzz on Smart Grids, 2010)

Organizational issues to be considered when developing smart grid includes higher customer awareness, customer satisfaction metrics, systems integration and in specific interoperability standards and cyber security, new operating metrics and smart grid legal compliance (Flores, Watkins and Wilson, 2010; What's the Buzz on Smart Grids, 2010).

Technology issues to be considered when developing smart grid includes switches and networks for power management, effective communication systems that relay real time data back and forth in the energy supply system, monitoring and sensor devices that will track distribution trends and energy usage, systems that enable consumers and suppliers be able to obtain usage data and systems that are linked to various programmable devices that allows them to operate when the cost of energy is least and allows them to save when the cost of energy is more (What's the Buzz on Smart Grids, 2010).

3. Challenge to the development of smart grids that is most likely to hamper their development

The challenge to the development of smart grids that is most likely to hamper their development is changing the existing electricity infrastructure and grids which will not only be cumbersome but also expensive and the unwillingness of energy companies who stand to lose revenue unwillingness to conserve more energy thereby creating an impediment in their corporation in conservation efforts such as development of smart grids (What's the Buzz on Smart Grids, 2010).

4. Other areas of our infrastructure that could benefit from "smart" technologies

Other areas of our infrastructure that could benefit from "smart" technology are the waste management and recycling area, transportation, online learning, environmental conservation and agriculture management. For instance in the transportation sector, more effective and efficient smart technology can be used to ensure that motor vehicles are able to harness various energy forms in their environment to propel itself with depending on fossil fuel. This system should be not only environment friendly but also fast efficient and effective in the way it converts energy into kinetic energy directly and storing some other energy for future use.

5. Whether I would like my home and community to be part of a smart grid

Yes, I would like my home and community to be part of a smart grid. Though expensive to purchase at the beginning, a smart grid would be beneficial to my home both in the short run and in the long run. This is mainly due to the lower billing costs that would accrue from electricity usage. This grid is able automatically switch appliances to save mode when ...

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